Limiting Amount of Ammo Purchase
- Thread starter P of PDent
- Start date
Currently we have low inventory on components for reloading compared to what we would normally have. During these tight times we are trying to be fair and raising our prices just to slow down sales would seem unfair. We were approached to sell all our components at auction where we would expect to sell for higher prices even with the consignment fee...we chose not to do this as we are in for the long haul. Phil.
Its a damned if you do and damned if you don't type of situation. If someone walks into your store and wants to purchase your entire stock of 9mm luger ammo, under past 'normal' circumstances I would say sell it all. But these are not normal times. Too many people are or were buying up stock of ammo, powder and primers and reselling online and at gunshows for much higher prices. Until supply becomes more predictable and plentiful, I say limit the amounts. But advertise that quantiles are limited if you are not already doing so.
Im not a high volume shooter for sure but just to throw it out there this would be a normal buy for my most used calibers, not all at once though;
17hmr 10 boxes
22lr 10 boxes
12g or 20g slugs or target 1 case each
7mm08 maybe 5 boxes
223 1000rds
Reasonable limits considering the current market. Now that you shared the dealer reselling that makes more sense though. I get what you are dealing with now.
Limiting sales of people that want to buy all your stock and flip it for more makes perfect sense, if you have good deals on ammo that is priced at last years prices you can expect most people that can afford it to want to stock up with as much as they can carry.... the only way to avoid that is to price with everyone else as even limiting daily purchase you will be sold out pretty quick I would imagine.
I saw a Canadian General on the news the other day saying we need more of everything in Canada when it comes to millitary arms and ammo... the time might be ripe for a resurgence in Canadian ammo manufacturing. Crowd sourced, Co-op Ammo.....
I saw a Canadian General on the news the other day saying we need more of everything in Canada when it comes to millitary arms and ammo... the time might be ripe for a resurgence in Canadian ammo manufacturing. Crowd sourced, Co-op Ammo.....
Do as you please . it's your store . ask your customers their opinion . they are the ones keeping your lights on . as they buy stuff ask them the same question your asking on here . would you be upset if I limited how much I can sell you just to keep everyone happy ? and print off a sheet with your limits and show them . your trying to be fair but some people won't look at it this way . only put of so much stock on the floor at a time also .
Trying to co-ordinate a policy with other retailers may be collusion and fall afoul of competition law. Be careful there, and it's worth asking a real lawyer.
Also, if this stuff is flying off the shelves faster than it can be resupplied, and gunshow dealers are too willing to bet they can flip it at a markup, it may unfortunately still be underpriced relative to the current supply/demand equation. Properly-priced goods run low just as the next skidload comes in (and give you optimum volume times markup!), and don't either instantly sell out or gather dust on your shelves.
Also, if this stuff is flying off the shelves faster than it can be resupplied, and gunshow dealers are too willing to bet they can flip it at a markup, it may unfortunately still be underpriced relative to the current supply/demand equation. Properly-priced goods run low just as the next skidload comes in (and give you optimum volume times markup!), and don't either instantly sell out or gather dust on your shelves.
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A tough situation for a retailer . If you limit quantity , then someone will be mad because they can't buy everything they want . On the other hand , if you sell out of a product , then customers will be mad because you are out of stock when they needed some ammo , and will go elsewhere to shop . Personally , if I was a retailer , I would limit quantity because if someone tries to buy a couple of times , and you are out of stock , then you will probably never hear from that customer again . It is really kind of common sense as you can usually tell if someone is profiteering because individual shooters only use so much ammo per year , so if buying big volume , you can tell that they are resellers , and profiteering due to shortages . Thanks for giving the shooting community a chance for our input .
I know trapshooters who buy large quantities, 30-40 flats, even a pallet, they are volume shooters.
I sold stuff on kijiji and facebook marketplace, later to see them being re-sold.
I got my money, should I get angry after the fact.
I sold stuff on kijiji and facebook marketplace, later to see them being re-sold.
I got my money, should I get angry after the fact.
Exactly. P&D and all community-oriented retailers have my sympathy, it's a tough situation.
If the ammo / component flippers really want to, they'll buy your max-limit volumes every day and send employees and all willing associates to do the same. However, that doesn't mean you should make it easy for them. Phil's proposed limits seem reasonable - Of course anything like this will be arbitrary, but thanks for coming on here to sound it out. I think MiG25's comment is about not being able to buy 8lb kegs of powder if the 2lb limit is in place.
Assuming that the supply situation will be different in the future: I'll certainly try to remember who is doing "good business", and I have a long memory when it comes to remembering those retailers doing "bad business".
Who are you kidding?! No you won't. You will buy from whoever has it the cheapest, loyalty be damned. Human nature.
I went through this last year with another business. Americans were calling to buy everything in store. People from reserves on the border were buying 10’s of thousands of primers, most like to smuggle across to the States.
Tried to limit online sales so local guys had some ammo. CGN threw a tantrum.
Tried to limit online sales so local guys had some ammo. CGN threw a tantrum.
There is nothing to order in. Even if you do place a big order, you will be lucky to get 25% of what you ordered.
So are you going to sell all your ammo and then not sell any guns? No one is going to buy a gun they can’t get ammo for.
I can see both sides of this.
I come from out of town and I figure there is a percentage of P&D customers in the same boat that want to stock up while they are there. On the other hand there are those that will buy up stock just to turn around and scalp it at a higher price.
I come from out of town and I figure there is a percentage of P&D customers in the same boat that want to stock up while they are there. On the other hand there are those that will buy up stock just to turn around and scalp it at a higher price.
Real life occurrence. My personal small pistol primer stock is not at panic levels but I thought I would just slowly bring the level up. I'm talking about purchasing 1000 primers, that's it. Looking around at the various retailers within a reasonable driving distance, I found one dealer showing "in stock" of CCI #500 and Winchester small pistol primers. This was on a Sunday and they are closed Mondays as well. Bright and early on the Tuesday morning I fight Valley and Vancouver traffic to arrive at the store right at thier 9:00 AM opening.
Guess what? They indeed had primers in stock (but wouldn't tell me how many) but were limiting quantities of 200 primers per custom/day. For me, 200 pistol primers is one match. I told the manger about his website showing "in stock" and no mention of limiting sales. I told him how far I came and I would like 1000. Nope, no way he said but he did up to 300 primers and wouldn't budge on more. Needless to say, I was none to happy.
My mistake, I should have stayed home and phoned ahead. My time, my gas and the premium price on 300 primers, it was not worth it. On the flipside, the retailer should have made it clear there was a 200 primer limit on his website. I would not even have bothered phoning in that case, let alone driving into Vancouver.
Guess what? They indeed had primers in stock (but wouldn't tell me how many) but were limiting quantities of 200 primers per custom/day. For me, 200 pistol primers is one match. I told the manger about his website showing "in stock" and no mention of limiting sales. I told him how far I came and I would like 1000. Nope, no way he said but he did up to 300 primers and wouldn't budge on more. Needless to say, I was none to happy.
My mistake, I should have stayed home and phoned ahead. My time, my gas and the premium price on 300 primers, it was not worth it. On the flipside, the retailer should have made it clear there was a 200 primer limit on his website. I would not even have bothered phoning in that case, let alone driving into Vancouver.
